Soldier sent to detention for cooking on Shabbat after cat ate his meal

Kfir brigade soldier about to eat Shabbat meal finds out a cat has 'tasted' their meal. Soldier offers to cook new meal, gets caught, sentenced to 20 days in detention for violating IDF rules

Hanan GreenbergPublished: 12.02.09 / Israel News

A combat soldier from the Nahshon battalion was sentenced to 20 days in detention, after he found out a stray cat "tasted" his Shabbat meal and decided to cook a new meal, despite IDF's strict orders that forbid cooking on the holy day.

Last weekend, the soldier and his friends, who serve with the Kfir division, entered the base's dining room, and intended to eat from a pot of cholent (meat stew) that was cooked according to the Shabbat regulations.

However, before they managed to dig in, the soldiers were surprised to discover that a cat ate out of the pot. The soldier, who refused to eat from the tainted pot, offered instead to make a light meal for him and his friends.

As his luck would have it, during the meal preparations, one of the kitchen's staff arrived and instructed the soldier to stop cooking immediately.

Details of the incident were handed over to the battalion commander, who decided to put the soldier on trial and sentenced him to 20 days in detention for violating IDF orders.

"There are clear orders about observing the Shabbat, and even if the food was inedible there are other options to get food without desecration of the Sabbath," said IDF sources.

The soldier's battalion friends, who expressed discontent with the harsh punishment, claimed the soldier "did not mean to disrespect anyone; he only wanted to make a meal – a symbolic punishment would have been sufficient."

IDF's Spokesperson office said in response: "This is a case of a soldier which was sentenced to detention due to disorderly conduct and violation of IDF rules. The soldier has been known to have disciplinary problems in the past."